Large Companies Limit Use of Sustainable Forestry Initiative Label

Companies such as Southwest Airlines, Office Depot, and others are following the corporate trend of using the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) label less frequently as before.

May 03, 2013

ForestEthics presented some new examples of a growing trend to avoid using the ‘Sustainable Forestry Initiative’ (SFI) for environmental claims or preferences. Presently, twenty-four prominent brands including AT&T and Allstate have taken action to move away from SFI. Today’s announcement calls attention to policies and commitments by Office Depot, Southwest Airlines, Cricket Communications and Hewlett-Packard.

"For major brands, as for ForestEthics, SFI is not environmental leadership,” said Aaron Sanger of ForestEthics.

ForestEthics publicly confirmed action by 24 major US brands to reduce SFI’s role in corporate environmental programs. In a report, “SFI: Certified Greenwash,” it’s explained why ForestEthics believes SFI's program is too dependent on the industry it serves and is not good for forests.

The expansion of a grassroots citizens movement concerned about SFI, including more than 20 of North America’s leading environmental organizations and tens of thousands of individuals concerned about the long- term effect of SFI’s program on our forests.

In Office Depot’s new Greener Purchasing Policy for Paper Products, SFI certification is only a minimum requirement and is not considered 'green'. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and recycled papers are given policy preference. For Southwest Airlines, the company will continue avoiding the use of the SFI logo and name on its materials and will maintain its preference for FSC-certified paper when purchasing certified paper products.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) recently confirmed that 100% of its HP Everyday paper products are now FSC-certified in the Americas. This milestone is the result of HP’s commitment to use FSC as the benchmark for acceptable forest certification in procurement and marketing.